Roll for the Galaxy

2014

Roll for the Galaxy, a thrilling board game for 2-5 players. Build space empires, develop technologies, settle worlds and ship goods. Who will construct the most prosperous empire?

45
minutes

2 - 5
player(s)

13+

Medium

About the game

Roll for the Galaxy is a captivating and strategically rich dice game that transports players into the farthest reaches of space. It is set in a vibrant and expansive universe teeming with alien races, uncharted galaxies, and infinite possibilities. As a player, you take on the role of an interstellar civilization, aiming to expand your influence and power through the colonization of worlds, advancements in technology, and production of valuable goods.

The core mechanics of the game are centered around the ingenious use of custom dice, which represent the workers in your galaxy. Each turn, you will roll these dice and assign them to various tasks based on the symbols they reveal. This could involve exploring new territories, settling on new planets, developing new technologies, producing goods, or shipping goods for victory points.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

The board game ‘Roll for the Galaxy’ includes several components that are essential for gameplay. These components have unique functions and interactions within the game.

Dice

There are 111 custom dice in ‘Roll for the Galaxy’. Each player starts with a cup of dice that represents their empire. The number of dice and their colors can change during the game. These dice determine worker activities and are rolled to carry out actions.

Home World Tiles

There are 9 different double-sided Home World tiles. These determine the starting situation for each player. Each Home World tile provides a different combination of starting dice and starting faction tiles.

Faction Tiles

There are 55 unique double-sided Faction tiles. These tiles represent different technologies and developments that players can acquire to expand their galactic empire. Each Faction tile provides a specific benefit or ability when completed.

Development Tiles

There are 55 unique double-sided Development tiles. These tiles are similar to Faction tiles but provide different benefits and abilities. Some Development tiles provide victory points at the end of the game, while others provide ongoing benefits.

Victory Point Chips

There are 33 Victory Point (VP) chips in the game. These chips are used to keep track of each player’s score. The player with the highest total VP at the end of the game is the winner.

Player Screens

There are 5 Player Screens. These are used to hide a player’s dice rolls and the allocation of their dice from the other players. This adds an element of surprise and strategy to the game, as players must guess what actions the other players are likely to take based on the visible information.

Phase Strips

There are 5 Phase Strips. These are used to indicate which phases will occur in a game round. They are used in conjunction with the dice to determine the actions that each player can take during a turn.

Player Mats

There are 5 Player Mats. These mats are used to organize each player’s empire. They have designated areas for tiles in development, completed developments, and the player’s citizenry and workers.

Player Dice Cups

There are 5 Player Dice Cups. These are used to hold each player’s dice. At the start of each round, players shake their cup and roll their dice to determine their available actions for the turn.

Game Tiles

There are 111 Game Tiles. These tiles represent the planets and developments that players can explore and build. Each tile has a unique cost and benefit, and they are essential for expanding a player’s empire and earning Victory Points.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

In Roll for the Galaxy, each player builds their own galactic civilization by managing their dice (workers) and expanding their space empire. Set up the game using the following steps:

1. Player roles:

Each player is a leader of a fledgling space empire. The roles are not pre-set and there is no designated first player. All players make decisions simultaneously during each round, guided by the roll of their dice.

2. Prepare the game components:

Separate all the dice, the development tiles (marked with a diamond), and the world tiles (marked with a circle). Set aside the white home dice, the black leader dice, and the game tiles. Each player takes five home dice of a single color, a player mat, a phase strip, a screen, a credit marker, and a double-sided summary tile.

3. Initial game board setup:

Shuffle the game tiles together in a bag or facedown in a pile. Draw one tile per player, divide it into its two halves (development and world), then arrange them by cost (from lowest to highest). This forms the initial display.

4. Player setup:

Each player draws two game tiles. They select one as a starting world and one as a starting development. The starting world is placed in a player’s construction zone on its world side. The development is placed under the development section of the player’s construction zone. The remaining dice from the drawn tiles are placed in the citizenry (dice pool).

5. Initial resources:

Each player takes one home die from their citizenry and places it in their cup. Players then set their credit marker at the ‘1’ spot on the wealth track. These represent the initial resources for each player.

6. Random elements:

Players roll their dice behind their screens at the start of each round. The outcome of these dice rolls affects the actions that players can take during that round, introducing a random element to the game. When drawing tiles from the bag or the pile during the game, the drawn tiles are also random.

After all these steps, you’re ready to start playing Roll for the Galaxy! Remember, the key to victory is effectively managing your workers (dice) and making strategic decisions to expand your space empire.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

Roll for the Galaxy is a dice game of building space empires. The game ends when either of two conditions is met:

One of the players builds their 12th development or settlement. This is counted in the total number of tiles in their tableau, not the number of dice on those tiles.
The pool of victory point chips runs out. These chips are gained during the shipping phase, and there’s a finite supply in each game.

Once the game has ended, players must take a few steps before final scoring:

Count the victory points on their tableau: Each development and settlement tile in a player’s tableau has a victory point value. Players add up these values to get their base score.
Add victory point chips: Throughout the game, players earn victory point chips by shipping goods. These chips are added to the base score from the tableau.
Add bonus victory points: Some tiles provide bonus victory points based on conditions on the player’s tableau. If a player has any of these tiles, they calculate and add these bonus points to their score.

The player with the highest total score wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the most remaining credits (money) wins. If there’s still a tie, the player who has the most home worlds wins.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Roll for the Galaxy is a strategic board game where players build galactic civilizations by rolling, managing, and allocating dice representing their citizenry. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins. There are several ways to score points:

Worlds and Developments: Each world and development that a player has built in their tableau is worth a certain number of victory points, as indicated on the tile. The total value of all tiles in a player’s tableau contributes to their final score.
Victory Point Chips: Players can also earn victory point chips during the game by shipping goods. The color of the die used to ship a good determines the number of victory point chips earned.
Consumed goods: When a player chooses to Consume a good, they can either trade it for victory point chips or consume it for victory points. The amount of points received is determined by the consume power on the world where the good was consumed.

At the end of the game, the player with the most victory points (from tiles and chips) is declared the winner. However, tie-breaking rules apply if two or more players have the same total points.

Tie-breaking rules in Roll for the Galaxy are as follows:

The player with the most remaining credits wins.
If there is a tie in credits, the player with the most dice in their citizenry wins.
If there is still a tie, the player who is earliest in turn order wins.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

The board game ‘Roll for the Galaxy’ has several rare or special rules and exceptions that can impact gameplay. Understanding these rules is crucial to mastering the game. Here are some important ones:

Developer/Settler Phase

During the Developer/Settler phase, a player may not split their workers between developing and settling. All dice assigned must be used for one action or the other, not both. This is an exception to the general rule that allows players to assign dice to any phase.

Cost of Tiles

While typically the cost of a tile is equal to the number of dice depicted on it, some tiles have a special symbol indicating that their cost is reduced. This is an exception to the general rule of tile cost calculation.

Red Die Characteristic

Unlike other dice, the red die (military die) has two develop faces instead of one. This makes it more valuable for certain strategies but also more unpredictable.

Tile Activation

Most tiles are activated during the phase corresponding to their color. However, some grey tiles are exceptions to this rule, as they can be activated during any phase.

Scoring at the End of the Game

At the end of the game, the player with the most victory points wins. However, if there is a tie, the player with the most leftover goods (on their world tiles, not in their citizenry) wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most dice in their citizenry wins.

Reassigning Workers

When you reassign workers, you can use any workers, not just the ones in your cup. However, you cannot reassign a worker to a phase that has already been completed in the current round.

Starting Tiles: At the beginning of the game, each player begins with a faction tile and a home world tile. These tiles are exceptions to the general rule of starting with no tiles.
End of Game: The game ends when either all the VP chips are claimed or a player has built their 12th construction. These are important exceptions to the general rule that the game continues until a player chooses to end it.